The World According To Crystal

A friend bemoans her birthdays. Another ignores them. I read recently about a celebrity who had lied so often about her age that she couldn’t remember when she was born. (I muttered “Bullshit” after reading that.)

I am 45.

45 1/2, to be exact.

I love getting older. As the saying goes: “Growing old is better than the alternative.”

Facing birthdays got much easier when I finally realized quality of life is about the choices you make.

You can be strong, smart and powerful. Make a series of wrong choices or even one big one, and boom… you walk away thinking you’re weak, stupid and powerless.

Which brings me to one of my favorite Anne Taintor Vintage Revisited pieces:

Anne Taintor rocks! (Note to my nieces: Despite how cool this woman looks, smoking will kill you. All it takes is one cigarette.)

The biggest lesson I’ve learned as the birthdays have breezed by: Life is best when you use your power for good.

It’s true. Try it.

The choice really is up to you.

Still wanting to see “Fairy Tale Chronicles”? But you still want the “FOC” (friend of Crystal) $5 off discount? Go tonight… the “FOC” has been extended… see post below.

Big shout out to Chris Hill, the wonderful son of Kathleen Purvis and Wayne Hill, for being such a great stagehand, through sickness, health and inclement weather, to the “FTC” production.

And if you want some French yummies or want to say hi, swing by Amelie’s French Bakery & Cafe after the show. I’ll be working and would love to get ya hooked on what this divine place has to offer.

à plus tard!!

Members of "The Fairy Tale Chronicles" cast include (from left): Tonya Bludsworth, Chandler McIntyre, Catherine Smith, Mark Scarboro, Tom Scott and Darlene Parker Black

“Fairy tales can come true. It can happen to you. If you’re young at heart…”

I always thought that opening line of  Frank Sinatra’s “Young at Heart” so poetic.

Until I realized that most fairy tales aren’t kind to women, and we shouldn’t want them to come true.

However, “The Fairy Tale Chronicles” playing at Theatre Charlotte have made me rethink my position.

Theater producer/actor Donna Scott (and my dear friend) conjured up the vision for this show two years ago after her second successful production of “The Body Chronicles.”

She asked local writers to deconstruct and re-imagine the tales of evil stepmothers, harpies, shrews and gullible dimwits.

More than 150 local artists and patrons of the arts community worked with Donna to develop the best entries. Five of those original pieces are being performed by some of the best actors working in the city. The playwrights include Jennifer Hubbard, Marla Brown, Iesha Hoffman, Stan Peal and Shannon Reichley.

Keep your eye on Mark Scarboro in "The Fairy Tale Chronicles." He's so funny that I almost peed my pants.

The director, Sheila Snow Proctor, is pretty damn awesome, too! (She just finished the multi-character supporting role in “Southern Rapture.“)

Did I mention that the original music is by the one and only Gina Stewart (actor and member of Volatile Baby and Doubting Thomas)? Oh, and there’s been a whole arts festival going on during the two-week run? ***I’m going to see Slam Charlotte’s Concrete Generation perform at 7:30 pm Wednesday, June 10.***

So, here’s the deal I have for you: For the June 11 (Thursday) show of “The Fairy Tale Chronicles,” get $5 off of the price of each ticket you buy if you walk up to the box office and say “I want the FOC special!“

FOC = Friend of Crystal.

Regular ticket prices are $21 for adults; $19 for seniors; $12 for children 12 & under. Yes, the show is kid-friendly.

The performance starts at 8 pm and is general admission. The earlier you get there, the better your seat and the parking spot. This offer is only good for the June 11 show.

Theatre Charlotte is at 501 Queens Road. Click here for deets.

Read Observer Theater writer Lawrence Toppman’s preview and review of  “The Fairy Tale Chronicles.”

See ya at the theater Thursday for a night of original, local entertainment!

PS: If you can’t make it and you know someone who might be interested in going, tell them about the FOC deal.

I’ve been doing a lot of firsts these last few months.

One of the more fun firsts was recording a JellyCast, a fancy way of saying a podcast with Josh McGlinn and Nathan Longbrook of CLT Jelly. We gathered a few weeks ago at Estelle’s SouthEnd during the regularly scheduled #CLTJelly.

Did he or didn't he have nipple enhancement? Photo from Entertainment Weekly.

***I know at this point some of  you are thinking “Crystal, honey, what the hell is #CLTJelly?” No worries. I didn’t know what a Jelly was until mid-April. It’s a casual gathering of people who want to co-work (click here for a deeper, more thoughtful explanation). BTW, the CLTJelly crew moves around. Click here for locations.***

It was a blast. Actually, it was very much like doing a radio show but there were no station breaks or laser hair removal ads.

What did we talk about: artistic garbage cans, Babe the Pig, my journalism career, the buff Dane Cook, how to kill your man’s request for a 3-way, one man’s fear of cereal, and my ability to give good authenticity.

For the record, I think Josh has a trademark pending on “good authenticity.”

Warning: it’s PG-13 in spots, and it’s very free form.

Click here to download the JellyCast.

Mad love to Josh, Nathan and special guest and CLTJelly regular Summer Plum.

What would topics would you like to hear us do a JellyCast on? Suggestions welcome.

Water, water everywhere...

Is it just me or are we (and I mean the collective “we”) really talking and listening to each other? The kind of talking that leads to understanding, to action, to change.

I know “change” is a word that we’ve heard a lot in the last two years. Some don’t think it’s possible. I do. I’m seeing and feeling a turning of the tide.

Consider the story of Twestival.

I’m addicted to Twitter. I’ve met some really cool, funny and hella smart people on the social media service.

Nearly three weeks ago, word started spreading in the Twitosphere on how Tweeters could be a catalyst in the change that President Obama inspired.

One result is Twestival. On Thursday, Feb. 12, volunteers in more than 175 cities around the world will host a fundraiser for the group charity: water. The nonprofit brings clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

Right now 1.1 billion people on the planet don’t have access to safe, clean drinking water. That’s one in six of us, according to charity: water.

Proudly, I can say the QC is one of the cities involved. On Jan. 31, a group of us met at Morehead Tavern for a planning session. Fueled by the power of possibility and faith, we set our fund-raising goal at $5,000, since it takes at least $4,000 to dig a well.

We divvied up the tasks, and we were off. *please imagine roadrunner sound here*

Within a week and with the help and kindness of many people and business, there’s a venue (CANS), speakers (Terri Bennett) and prizes (a cruise donated by CruiseSource.com). Every cent we raise will go to the charity.

We set different ticket prices ($5 to $100 for VIP) since money is an object for most of us. And you do not have to be on Twitter to attend.

If you attend, you will be contributing to a great cause. You will see the result of people who care coming together. And you may make some new friends or connections that could lead to something bigger.

I think of Twestival as being a rock that we’re tossing into still water. I fully expect an incredible ripple effect.

Hope to see you there. Click the link for more info: http://charlotte.twestival.com/

PS: If you can’t make it to the event, you can still donate to the Charlotte effort!

Glenn Burkins, a veteran journalist who once covered the White House, and Africa and was also a deputy managing editor at the Observer, launched a great new Web site for African-Americans who live in Charlotte and the Carolinas.

It’s QCityMetro.com.

He also wrote an inspiring opinion column this week called “Awakening the Inner Giant,”a wake-up call for all of us. Check it out here. I love the ending of Glenn’s piece.

It reminds of two quotes that I have hanging in my office at work:

“The job of a citizen is to keep his mouth open.” - Günter Grass.

“Well behaved women rarely make history” – Laurel Thatcher Ulrich.